Faculty Book: Joshua Freeman

Joshua B. Freeman

American Empire: The Rise of a Global Power, the Democratic Revolution at Home 1945–2000
(Viking, 2012)

This portrait of the United States shows a nation both galvanized by change and driven by conflict. The economic juggernaut awakened by World War II transformed a country once defined by its regional character into a uniform and cohesive power and set the stage for the United States’ rise to global dominance. Yet over the years, Freeman sees a profound tragedy shaping the path of American civic life: after decades of work by the civil rights and labor movements to expand the rights of millions of Americans, power has slipped from the hands of individual citizens into those of private corporations. Freeman’s sweeping story of a nation’s rise reveals forces at play that will continue to affect American influence and might in the greater world. Joshua Freeman (Prof., Queens) is on the doctoral faculty in history at the Graduate Center.